Lofoten, Six Ascents

Our trip had an adventurous spirit, partly because we are 19- and 20-year-old geology students with a lot of time and little money And Norway is one of the last places in Europe where you can enjoy true adventure. For us, during our last year at high school, Lofoten was a dreamland. We traveled by bus to Oslo and hitchhiked for three days to Lofoten. We brought everything, including food and fishing rods, in really big bags. Cod was the mainstay of our menu. The only thing we had to buy in Norway was bread. We spent every night for six weeks in a tent or, when the weather was bad, old, empty fishermen’s huts. Our rules and goals were simple: first ascents in light, fast, clean alpine-style, without portaledges, bolts, or other non-adventure gear.

For us Moskenesoya is the most amazing of Lofoten’s islands and still has great climbing potential. There were around 18 routes before our arrival; we added three, and other huge lines are still waiting. We don’t understand why all Norwegians only climb around Henningsvær, Kalle, and Svolvær.

We created our routes in harmony with Norwegian climbing ethics: no bolts. When seconding a pitch one of us was often heard to shout, “Hey, that was a fucking crazy runout man!” The two new routes Goodbye High School (Norwegian 7-, 460m) on Pillaren, and Sound of Waves (6+, 450m) on Brandtuva are really bold and scary, with lots of unprotected slab climbing. Our most serious route was Ticket to Greenland (6+ AO, 550m) on Helvetestind, which has very steep, continuous climbing. Sweet Home Moravia (7- A2, 260m) on Lille Vagakallen is nice, with Chamonix-quality rock. We also put up Fish Restaurant (5+, 350m) on Djupfjord Buttress, and Hungry Eyes (6 Al, 420m) on Maslitinden.

We won’t disclose more information on the routes; you should go try them yourselves. We climbed six new lines but more importantly had a great time, with much climbing and fishing in one of the most wonderful places on earth. We say to the Norwegian community, “Thanks for your enormous kindness. You helped us on many occasions.”